Unanswered Prayers

I received an e-mail this morning from a client (friend of a friend) and I could not agree, and relate more! Below is what made me think.... just a thought for today. If you don't practice faith, religion, etc. you can still relate to the e-mail.

"What's up everybody? How many of y'all can look back over the last few years and think of a time when you really wanted something to happen for you that never happened? Or maybe it did happen just at a much later time. It could be anything from a new job to hoping a girl falls in love with you. Instantly, when I think of this, I think about Garth Brooks' song "Unanswered Prayers". For those of you who aren't country music fans it's a song about all the times we pray for something we want to happen real bad and God doesn't seemingly answer the call. The song says "some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." Country fan or not we can all agree that we don't always know what's best for us. Now I know everybody reading this could give me a story right off the top of their head about this. And I'd bet that in most situations you're real glad it happened just like it did. For me, the easy answer is baseball. When I was drafted all I wanted was to get to the big leagues as soon as possible. I thought I was just wasting time in the minors and I didn't need to get any better. I thought all I needed was the opportunity and my career would take off. I used to pray that God would just let me leapfrog the lower levels and join the ranks of the Atlanta Braves. What I eventually found out was that without all those lessons learned in the minors I would have NEVER made it.... Ever. I had to do a lot of growing up in the minors. I had a AA pitching coach that I hated with a passion because he would air me out every single time I didn't do something the way a big league would. I prayed that God would take me out of that situation every day. Looking back, that man helped me grow up more than any coach I've ever had in pro baseball. And if I had been called to the big leagues right when I wanted to I can say with a 100% certainty that I would have gotten crushed and been out of the game immediately. Sometimes it just takes a little time for God's perfect plan to run it's course. And, apparently, even more time for me to realize I don't have all the answers.
Let me dive a little deeper into this. I've been involved in some great conversation this past week about our purpose in whatever situation we may be in. You might be wondering why God would have you in a certain job or place. You might wonder why God would allow you to struggle through things when He has the power to bring you out of it. First, let me say this... God doesn't give you anything you can't handle with Him strengthening you. He wants to be part of our lives, and doesn't intend for us to try and go it alone. Second, think about it in another light. Who might you be affecting wherever you're at? The situations we are in are no accident. We are put there for a purpose. If you are able to help one person find the Lord in a given situation then the Kingdom of Heaven is greatly improved. It may not fit into our plans but I promise you it fits into God's plan. Last, hopefully this comes across like I want, should we as humans question why we are put into any situation? Can we really question our creator/savior after all they've done for us? I know I do it all the time... wonder what God thinks about that? I bet God's looking at me going "seriously... again?" I'll tell you what I need to do. I need to care less about what I think is best for me and do more trusting of what God's already figured out is best for me."

There are so many times when I think to myself, "why is this happening?" or "why me?" Then I remind myself, there is a reason, there is a reason I am being tested right now. I am thankful for the obstacles I have gone through because it has made me the strong person I am today. When times seem tough, its easy to take things for granted and feel sorry for yourself, but someone else in the world always has it a little tougher. What's that saying, "Great things come to those who wait." I believe that. We cannot appreciate the good, the great, or miracles, unless we have experienced some bad.